'Survivor 14: Fiji' - The Castaways, Part 4

Survivors ready? The new season will premiere Thursday, February 8th at 8 PM ET/PT. Although I haven't seen confirmation, I'm sure it's only going to be an hour as it has been in past years. So, (at least) one of the 19 castaways will be gone before we even get to know him... or her.

I previously listed the other castaways in Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. For easy referencing, I'm also going to add these entries in their own section in the blog's sidebar. Then, as the series airs, I can see exactly how wrong I was in my predictions. Hey, I'm just an avid fan of the show; I'm not omniscient. I refuse to place wagers. In making my predictions and observations, I'm using the bios and favorites listed at the official CBS Survivor 14: Fiji website.

The Last Four Castaways in This Series

Stacy was born in South Korea, adopted at the age of six months, and raised in Montpelier, Vermont. She chose to move to Miami sight unseen at the age of 17, attending the Ai Miami International School of Art and Design, interning, and working full-time. She sounds like a go-getter, doesn't she?

From her bio page: "Kimball enjoys knitting, making jewelry and cooking. She describes herself as resourceful, optimistic and good-humored. Whether living in Vermont, Miami or Boulder, she is most proud of her ability to adapt to her surroundings." She's single and her birth date is October 1, 1979.

What do her Favorites tell about her?

• For a favorite color, she likes "baby pink." Is that a real color? Is that a new crayon or something? [I'll always miss raw umber and burnt sienna.]
• She likes backgammon, but lists no video games.
• Her most common answer throughout the listing is "no favorite." She either likes too many to list or likes none at all, I guess.
• No favorite TV show, no favorite sport. No Survivor listed. Does she even know the show? I don't know.
• She likes horseback riding. That's always a good skill for the show, right?
• Well, she likes Sinatra and lounge music. That's not quite what I expected from her.

Gee, I don't know about this girl. Her favorites don't tell me much about how she'll do on the show while her bio itself shows she might be strong. Her possibilities could go either way, but I doubt she'll win it all or even come close.

Next up to the plate is Mookie Lee. I had to say that as the only other "Mookie" I've ever heard of was a baseball player. This Mookie was born in Seoul, Korea, moved to Connecticut, and raised in Northbrook, Illinois. His Bachelor's is in Actuarial Science and Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

From his bio page: "Lee enjoys traveling, playing competitive sports (particularly basketball and volleyball) and spending time with his friends and family. He is a die-hard Chicago Bears fan and is a season ticket holder. He describes himself as outgoing, humorous, strong-minded, competitive and athletic." Mookie is single, currently living in downtown Chicago, and his birth date is November 10, 1981.

So far, so good. Taking a gander at his Favorites:

• Favorite colors are black and blue. I hope he doesn't bruise easily.
• Another Monopoly player. [I swear that often that's the only board game folks can think of when asked. Me? I'd say Scrabble.]
• Yet another new castaway not listing Survivor amongst favorite television shows. What's up with that? He lists Seinfeld, CSI, SportsCenter, Entourage, and 24.
• An interesting (and different) choice of magazines including SmartMoney and Money. In his favorite books I see Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. I'm sensing some sort of pattern here, aren't you?
• He likes Bacardi and Jagermeister Bombs.

Mookie looks like he may be a strong contender - young, in good physical shape and such. But my Survivor-sense isn't tingling. I just don't get the feeling that he'll make the Final Four. Don't ask me why... and I could be totally off-base.

Ah, the "older woman" of the cast. Can she break free of the fate of previous Survivor Women in their 50s? (I think of MadDog and the singing one, Wanda...!) Sylvia was born in Hong Kong, but moved to Los Angeles when she was eight years old. After high school, she moved up the coast and earned her degrees (Bachelor's and Masters) at the University of California at Berkeley. She's the founder and Chairman of a renowned architectural firm in San Francisco.

From her bio page: "Kwan describes herself as creative, energetic and determined, and according to her husband, holds the unofficial title of “Ultimate Consumer.” In her spare time, Kwan plays tennis, skis, hikes and plays golf. She’s also happy that she finally learned how to swim, because it was sink or swim as a Survivor contestant. Kwan's never met an exercise routine she didn’t like, keeping in shape with Pilates, yoga, Tai Chi, and any new type of gym equipment introduced." She lives with her husband of 26 years, has two children, and her birth date is August 18, 1954.

Time to glean more insight from her Favorites:

• In most categories, she lists multiple favorites. That means she enjoys life or that she's indecisive, I say.
• She likes Scrabble! And Apples to Apples, whatever that is.
• She enjoys hiking, jogging, and running. [I would think the last two similar interests, but I never got into either.]
• Once again, no Survivor listed in favorite TV shows. She likes Jeopardy, The Apprentice, and Shark.
• She has a lot of favorite fruits, but likes sugarless candybars? Oh, the horror! But she redeems herself by liking dark chocolate.

In looking at her favorites, Sylvia seems very health-conscious. She also seems very intelligent. Will those aspects help her make it to be the Sole Survivor? Can she beat the older-woman odds of the show? I think she may do better than some in the past, but I'm not getting winner vibes from her. I hope I'm wrong - it would be cool for a 52-year old woman to win. Yeah, Tina Wesson won one season and she was an "older" woman, but Colby Donaldson handed that win to her on a silver platter. (That's my own personal opinion, of course.)

Last, but certainly not least as he just happens to be the last man on an alphabetical level, we have Yau-Man. Fun to say, isn't it? Yow, man! Yau-Man Chan is originally from Malaysian Borneo (ringing a Survivor bell with me) and moved to the United States where he earned his degree at M.I.T. Then he went on to earn a Masters at the University of California at Santa Barbara. While he's currently the Director of Information Systems for the College of Chemistry at the University of California at Berkeley, he's worked menial jobs while coming up - including dishwasher and house painter.

From his bio page: "Chan enjoys playing table tennis, bicycling, woodworking and reading. He is a member of the USA Table Tennis Association. He describes himself as intellectual and contemplative. He considers himself a natural leader, a good organizer, very skilled with his hands, very resourceful and feels he possesses a keen intellect." Yau-Man Chan has been married for 23 years, has two children and he was born on August 26, 1952.

Oh, but what about his Favorites?

• On quick glance, I see his favorites are short and to-the-point.
• No favorite board games, but enjoys the Atari classic games and Mrs. Pac-Man.
• He's not into team sports at all. [Does that mean he's not a team player?]
• He likes to watch the news and 60 Minutes. Not a single reality show listed and, more importantly, no Survivor listed. Yikes.
• He enjoys classical music and reads The Economist.
• He likes shrimp chips as a snack. Hmmm... never noticed them on the shelves. They sound tasty to me!
• So many one-word answers.

Oh, Yau-Man seems to have a lot working against him - his age, the fact that he seems so "serious" in his Favorite listings, his lack of knowledge (so it seems) regarding Survivor itself. But, then again, he grew up in Borneo, a key Survivor territory. I'm going to go out on a limb here and give a strong player prediction. I think he might just make Final Four. Don't ask me why - it could be because I like to say his name. And, of course, I have nothing to lose. I'm not placing any wagers.

It's Pants-olicious! - This Week on 'The Late Show with David Letterman' - Jan. 22-26

Last week I mentioned changes in the official website for the show. The Dave himself mentioned the changes during the week. If you're a Late Show fan, or even if you're just interested in some of the past guests, you should take a peek at the official site as there are tons of video clips in the archives and lots o' neat stuff. You could spend hours going through it all, so grab yourself a cup of joe and prepare to settle in.

My only complaint about the page is that it no longer lists the upcoming guests for the week. In a way that's okay as the website listings were notoriously obsolete for some time now. So, it's off to the listings for the show elsewhere...

• Monday, January 22: Actor Kevin Spacey, musician Alicia Keys, Nellie Kay and the Broadway Philharmonic perform. Oh, I always enjoy Kevin Spacey's appearances on the show. He's interesting and witty. What more could I want?
• Tuesday, January 23: Actors Forest Whitaker and Ricky Gervais with musical guests The Shins. Sounds good to me!
• Wednesday, January 24: Impressionist Frank Caliendo spoofs sports commentator John Madden, actress Mandy Moore and Rosanne Cash performs. Um, okay. For some reason Wednesday night shows aren't hitting with me so much lately. However, the monologue and other happenings keep me tuned in.
• Thursday, January 25: What? From the listings I see, this one is a repeat. Howard Stern (promoting himself and Sirius, as usual) and Gwen Stefani. The Stefani performance is excellent.
• Friday, January 26: Another repeat? Dave must have some wild plans for an extended weekend or something, eh? But, if you missed Clint Eastwood's appearance on the show in December, you'll want to check it out. Plus, actor Matthew Fox from Lost.

There you go. Pantsolicious, of course.

TV Newsy Bits - Saturday, January 20, 2006

Baby, it's cold outside. To me, this is the kind of weather that makes me want to stay inside... watching TV or DVDs, of course! Well, if my knee was better, skiing may be on the menu. But that's not the case.

There's no American Idol on this weekend, which could be a good thing. But there's a lot of other stuff! I've marked my own calendar to watch The Wire at 9 PM ET/PT on BET. I'm so glad I discovered the show there since I don't have HBO. And, what's even better is that time slot. None of my "have to see" shows are on at that time... until now with The Wire.

Here are the TV Newsy Bits I found while peeking around the Internet:

• TMZ broke the news that American Idol Hollywood choice Tommy Daniels has a criminal record. (He's the 'fro dude.) Meanwhile, Rosie has a new target.
• Heroes will return Monday night and the viewers will experience a TV 360 experience with interactive activity according to this Celebrity Spider article.
• Shhh... Milo Ventimiglia of Heroes reveals a few spoilers.
• Will Rob and Amber hit the "end of their shelf life" after the upcoming season of The Amazing Race? Entertainment Weekly seems to think so.
• CW has renewed Everybody Hates Chris for another season. I don't talk about the show so much, but the episodes I've seen, I've liked. Actor Todd Bridges, a survivor of Diff'rent Strokes, will be a guest star on Monday's episode.
• CBS has ordered/renewed Survivor through 2007-2008 - two more seasons in addition to the upcoming Survivor 14: Fiji.

What's on Television Tonight?

There's no American Idol to tie up the hours, but there are plenty of new episodes of other shows on tonight.

At 8 PM ET/PT on ABC, it's an all-new Ugly Betty while ABC has new episodes of My Name is Earl and The Office. Since CBS is showing a repeat in the slot, it's a great opportunity to check out the other shows. Oh... and Fox has new episodes of 'Til Death and The War at Home. CW has a new Smallville on.

A new C.S.I. starts at 9 PM ET/PT and we'll the new boss taking Grissom's place. Kemper. Kempler? Simon Templar? Whatever. NBC has new episodes of Scrubs and 30 Rock while ABC is showing a new Grey's Anatomy (check out the blog discussion post to talk about the show). FOX is showing a new episode of the dwindling down The O.C. CW has a new Supernatural and A&E has a new The First 48 (which is an interesting real action police investigation show). BET is showing The Wire (repeated late Saturday night).

At 10 PM ET/PT, NBC is showing an E.R. repeat while ABC has a new Men in Trees and CBS has a new Shark. Over on MTV, there's a new Real World.

'American Idol 6' - The Seattle Auditions

The smile on Simon's face that you see in the photo didn't stay around too long as the auditions hit Seattle. Not to worry, Minneapolis, Seattle brought about even a worse day of auditions according to Simon. In one day, Minneapolis put through 17 contestants to Hollywood. In two days in Seattle, only 14 made the cut.

A few things remained constant between both audition cities. The level of the talents, both the highs and the lows, are a bit disappointing for me this season. Why the heck are they keeping the left door of the double doors locked in place? It was another evening of "the other door." Not everyone is righthanded, American Idol. I was waiting for someone to run out in horror after a Simon scowl, hit the locked lefthand door, and slither down to the floor like in a cartoon.

There were no guest judges on the panel and Paula seemed to hang in through both days without really odd behaviors. The niceness that Simon seemed to exhibit last night was gone for the most part and Randy wasn't as harsh. Well, except for the ones who really didn't have a clue or were silly to even think of auditioning. I felt sorry for some of the contestants, as I did last night. But, when you think about it, they know the show. They chose to go on national television. They signed releases for the footage to be shown. Me? I'd never want to be a star that bad... and I know I can't sing. Or dance. I shouldn't even really hum.

Tonight's Most Notable of the Odd

Oh, how apt is this? A candidate for the Darwin Awards in relation to American Idol, we endured Darwin "Misha" Reedy accompanied by her Mom. Holding to the idea that she was bringing sexy back, I think her shirt was too sexy for her and not vice versa. And, it was a huge floppy shirt. Like mother, like daughter and she performed much like she portrays herself. She frightened me. Justin Timberlake may never sing his song again if he saw her mention of it.

I have no idea what's going on with this woman's skin color, but it can't be healthy. They asked her if it was a sunburn, but she didn't really say much. But, since she dressed the way she did, she knew it would be commented upon. She's Melissa "Carlene" Stavros and Simon basically said she sounded like a goat. What did goats ever do to Simon?

Her performance didn't really remind me of a goat. I thought more along the lines of a cacophony of sound and motion. If she had been on much longer, my head may have started to spin.


Nick Zitzmann (pictured on left) brought about thoughts of a young Kyle Secor gone bad. Now, I like Kyle Secor, but not when he's gone bad and thinks he can sing.

He tried to sing "Unchained Melody" which is a tough song even if you can sing. Oh, my. He may think he's a leader, be he ain't no singer. While Simon referred to him as possibly not human, I think he's wrong. This could be a zombie situation. You may want to alert the GhostBusters. Even Nick said watching the performance might scare himself.

Hopefully it will be a lasting friendship between Jonathan Jayne and Kenneth Briggs. Neither should have tried out for the show, Jonathan more so than Kenneth. I'm glad the judges weren't cruel to Jonathan and I'm also glad that Kenneth (for the most part) took Simon's comments in stride. And, he knows a bush baby is a kind of monkey! These two are the Odd Couple of Tonight's Most Notable of the Odd.

Why, oh why am I hearing "Dueling Banjos"? Like a character from Deliverance, Stephen Thoen likes to try "cro-akie." He likes to be called "Red." See, he's not representative of all redheads. My hair is a similar color (thankfully a different style and I have no beard) and I always hated to be called "Red."

He likened himself to Freddie Mercury and absolutely slayed "Bohemian Rhapsody." He also seemed just a tad dangerous. He was the last contestant of the day and I bet the judges had security escort them out.

There were other bad acts, but they didn't make my Most Notable list. Brandon Groves, the one who sang "I Shot the Sherriff" while dressed as a cop last year returned this season all decked out like the Apollo Creed guy in Minneapolis sans boxing gloves. David Mills had an epiphany and a wake-up call. There was a Taylor Hicks clone, Eric Chapman, who couldn't sing a lick.

Friends and relatives of AI wannabes, please don't let your loved ones think they have talent when they don't! Stop them before they sing again! I beseech you, I beg you... confine them to the shower. I beg you, tell them. Spare them the public humiliation. Friend don't let friends go without talent on American Idol.

There Were Some Good Ones

Tommy Daniels has tried twice before to make it on the show. He slept by trashcans awaiting his Seattle audition. He fluffed his 'fro and he put on a show. Blake Lewis, a champion beatboxer, showed off his "skillz" and proved he can sing, too. The Malakar siblings (brother and sister) both made it through shining. I liked how Sanjaya wouldn't admit that the judges said he has a better voice than his sister.

Rudy Cardenas took a chance with a Journey song (Randy was a band member) and was passed through to Hollywood by Randy and Paula, but not Simon. Anna Kearns, a lofty lady at 6'3" without heels, passed through although I wasn't too impressed with her singing. 16-year old Jordin Sparks whose father is NFL's Felipe Sparks, is going to Hollywood.

Me? I'm just waiting for the Memphis auditions we'll see next week.